Friday, February 17, 2012

Shopaholics Anonymous

I've picked up a few things in the small bits of time I had available this week (aka I went to the mall during my hour lunch breaks from work and did some damage).

I had a gift card left over from Christmas to The Bay, it was 20x the points on beauty at Shoppers Drug Mart and a "redeem 40,000 points for $90 off" event the next day... long story short, this had to happen!

3 things were boring but necessary repurchases: Shiseido facial cotton which is totally worth the money, La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo which is my holy grail spot treatment for acne, and La Roche Posay Effaclar K which is reformulated and has a weird scent... it no longer has lactic acid in it and its exfoliating powers are supposed to be improved - we'll see!

I also needed a new eye cream and while so many of your have recommended Origins I just have not had the time to head on over to the USA to check out an Origins counter. I refuse to pay the inflated Canadian retail/shipping prices if I know I can get it for less elsewhere, so Hydraphase by La Roche Posay will have to do. I am so far really happy with it. Expect a skincare update video in the coming weeks.

Now for the more exciting bits, a new perfume - the one I had been lusting for as of late - Chanel Chance Eau Tendre. It's beautiful, light floral and has some of my favourite elements: grapefruit, jasmine, musk and some cedarwood. Yum.

A new foundation...

Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua - this was a total impulse buy. I had sampled this foundation twice before and LOVED it both times but the first sample broke me out horribly. The second time I got a sample it didn't break me out at all...

So here's hoping third time is a charm! The colour B20 is a perfect perfect match for me right now and the finish and coverage of this foundation is gorgeous. Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum reminds me a bit of this (albeit that one is a touch more dewey) yet unfortunately that one ended up irritating my skin after regular use so I had to stop using it.

Final goody is this new under-eye concealer. I used up the Collection 2000 concealer I was using beforehand and I figured I should try something new. Lisa Eldridge uses this quite frequently in her tutorials and I was curious to give it a try. Will report back once I try it out!

Over all I am quite pleased with everything I got - now I'm back in "use up products mode" and I also have a few things that I sadly never reach for so expect a little blog sale soon. I am in the process of getting it organized, sanitizing and photographing the products and then we'll be on a roll.

Vitalumiere aqua is a staple for me. I'm also B20 and it looks perfect. I own that shade in perfection lumiére and it is so much lighter I don't really understand (and why is the foundation worse but with a higher price tag?) can't wait for a review on the clinique's concealer xo

Chance by Chanel was one of my first ever perfumes. I was about 14 and I went on a school trip to Ukraine; I remember the lady and his son I stayed with were super wealthy and she always smelt divine! So I had a look round her bathroom and found Chance! (hehe naughty) I would not shut up about it when I got home and I got the small bottle for Christmas when I was 14 or 15. Such a beautiful fragrance :) xxx

drool... what an amazing haul! i really need to try the la roche posay effaclar duo. i cant hear enough good things about it from you! and have you tried cotton cloud pads before? they're super soft. havent tried shiseido, but they seem similar! http://www.beautyclouds.com/category.jsp?category=COTTON+CLOUDS%3Csup%3E%26reg%3B%3C%2Fsup%3E

Haha.. sign me up for the treatment program! I totally agree with the new scent of Effaclar K! It smells of latex? I can't pinpoint it, I know it just smelled of my Barbie dolls from back in the day! But the K along with the Effaclar Duo, my skin is tamed. Good enough for me. Great purchases.

enjoy your goodies hun. i think I'm gonna finally cave and get the Shisheido facial sheets. Oh, VA is my holly grail foundation and I need to replace my bottle soon ('m also B20). The only thing that's annoying about it is that when you get to the end of it, it's kinda hard to squeeze product out

I use it mainly as a night treatment - but it works well under makeup too! it's versatile however I do find the new formula of it stronger than the old one... so I wouldn't really use this new one under makeup, I prefer to use it at night

Sandra, what a haul!! Jealous. Being loyal to the Optimum card is way more advantageous than being loyal to the VIB card! I know you like REN products...have you tried their Omega 3 Night Repair Serum or Rose O12 Moisture Defense Serum? Liquid gold!!! Try to get samples at Sephora next time you go, you'll loveeee them even if you have combo/oily skin!

I have recently purchased Japanese facial cotton and they are a million times better than convetional cotton pads. Prior to this purchase this I thought all cotton pads were created equal, I will have to try out the Shiseido ones before I leave Japan. Great haul, it's lovely when everything you purchase has such lasting value.

Oooo haul! =D <3 I have never heard of the Shiseido facial cotton before, what du use it for? I loooove vitalumiere aqua, amazing product! I don't think I can ever go without this in my makeup bag no mo. Am very curious to see what u think of the La R-P eye cream! Never heard of it before!! And the Clinique airbrush! xx

Can I say "whoah" to the Shiseido facial cotton? How are these different? By the way, bought the Effaclar K and it really just doesn't work for me. I get bumps the day after and sometimes worse, deep seated pimples. And yeah, smells really funny, too.

the smell really is questionable, I always get nervous when companies change up the formulations of stuff that I use.and the Shiseido cotton is just a lot softer yet quite durable - one pad is efficient at removing all my makeup on most days :)

Hi Sandra,I know you have tried both the Chanel Perfection Lumiere and Vita Aqua. What made you settle for the VA? More coverage? Better finish? I am on the fence on whether to get PL or VA. Like you, I have acne-prone, oily and sensitive skin. My skintone is more yellow (Asian) though. Hopefully your response will help me decide. My closest Chanel counter is 2 hrs. away. Bummer.

Chanel Perfection Lumiere was too drying/matte for me. VA just feels better on my skin. VA has lighter coverage. perfection has better color selection, though! if you are super oily, it might work for you better than it did for me

I just have a quick question about the La Roch Posay Effaclar range! I have recently bought the effaclar duo, the cleanser, effaclar ai and also a toner however I was wondering if you'd recommend the effaclar k instead of the duo? I am prone to cystic spots on chin/ lower cheek area and they are very painful! Thank you!